Want fries with that?

South Wairarapa is the place to be for the next 17 days as four eateries battle it out in the Wellington on a Plate food festival’s burger challenge.

The challenge has cafes, restaurants and pubs around the greater Wellington region produce their own take on a great burger with the public voting for their favourite.

New to the challenge this year is The Offering in Greytown which is putting a twist on one of its customers’ favourites.

Greytown Hotel’s ‘The Local’

“We’re well known for our funky dogs, which is a Dutch hot dog, and we wanted to keep celebrating the sausage,” owner Bevan Morland said.

Its burger, ‘Smoking Gun’, is made up of a boerewors sausage with triple-smoked bacon, pulled pork, Swiss cheese, chilli tomato sauce and slaw in a pretzel bun – all served with fries.

All the ingredients are locally sourced – from the Long Bush free-range pork to the smoked bacon and boerewors sausage from “Gav next door” at the Greytown Butcher.

Morland has already auctioned off the first burger at an event he hosted to raise funds for Greytown’s Kaye Patterson and her daughter, Ella, who had been asleep inside their rented home when it caught fire last month.

He also plans to host a burger night on August 24 for 60 patrons at $30 per ticket, with $10 from each ticket going to Life Flight.

Other Wairarapa eateries competing in the burger challenge are Martinborough’s Café Medici, the Greytown Hotel, and Union Square at the Martinborough Hotel.

Union Square’s ‘Spicy Lady of Maxims’

Greytown Hotel’s burger, called ‘The Local’, is a Southern Louisiana-style smoked brisket burger with jalapeno slaw, gouda, and house-made spicy BBQ sauce in a Greytown French Baker bun, also served with fries.

Union Square are also entering for the first time with ‘Spicy Lady of Maxims’ – a lamb patty with pickled red cabbage, beetroot, salsa verde, pommes maxim and whipped goat’s cheese in a house-made walnut bun with triple cooked chips.

Cafe Medici is serving up a bitter chocolate venison patty with their burger ‘Oh My Deer’, containing a wood-fired Portobello mushroom, fennel and pear slaw, and porcini aioli in a Clareville Bakery brioche bun and served with fries.

Clareville Bakery has opted out of the challenge this year but is still supplying its brioche buns to 12 participating restaurants and cafés for their burgers.

Wairarapa produce shines

A handful of Wairarapa restaurants and businesses are offering the chance to try something new as part of WOAP.

Café Medici’s ‘Oh My Deer’

Share the night with truffle grower Karen Aitkenhead over a six-course dinner, eat your way around the Orui Costal Walk, become a winemaker for a day at Matahiwi Estate, or enjoy a four-course meal over a movie at Masterton’s Screening Room.

Foodies can also spend the afternoon learning the ways of butchery with Prodigal Daughter chef Rachel Priestley.

Already sold out are the Clareville Bakery pastry and breadmaking sessions, French Cuisine 101 at Union Square, and the Country Cooking Captain Cook-inspired dinner.

Wellington on a Plate began yesterday and runs until August 26. For event details and burger voting online at VisaWOAP.com